


Forever Charmed

by ChrysX



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Charmed AU, Episode: s01e21 Love Hurts, Hurt Derek, I swear, M/M, Technically Derek is a lot older, Underage Stiles Stilinski, Whitelighter Derek Hale, Witch Stiles Stilinski, no one dies, no sex themes, power of love beats death basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 16:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11444544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChrysX/pseuds/ChrysX
Summary: This is a Charmed AU and more precisely an adaptation of the S01E21 episode ''Love hurts''.  Stiles is a new witch, living with his cousins, Allison and Lydia, at the Deaton Manor. He's in love with Derek Hale but he has not seen him in months as the man has disappeared without a warning or an explanation.  And then one night he comes back and it turns out that Derek was not exactly who Stiles thought he was. Also he's dying...





	Forever Charmed

The thing that Stiles loves most about his room at the Deaton Manor is the way his room has started to smell; like warmth and citruses and pumpkin pie. Exactly like his mother’s kitchen at his old home before every Autumn Equinox or All Hallows’ Eve. It didn’t smell like that a year ago when he had first moved in but then he, Lydia and Allison had started messing around with potion recipes causing the aroma of herbs and spices like ginger or nutmeg to settle in on everything that he touched; the pages of his books, the heavy curtains hanging from the windows, the photos of his parents kept in a box under his bed. It is a comforting smell. It helps ground himself whenever he gets too overwhelmed remembering what a whirlwind those last months have been. One moment his biggest problems were just puberty and homework and teenage crushes and the next… The next involved a whole other world that was hiding before his eyes and deadly creatures having it out for him and his heart been broken over the loss of the people he loved most.

 

He still doesn’t understand why his mother did not tell him the truth about what they were and why she had chosen to bind his powers instead of teaching him herself. Deaton told him it was because she wished to give him a normal childhood but Stiles doubts that. He still recalls the stories his mother told him on some nights and insisted that he should remember; magical history facts disguised as myths and tales without base. And he also remembers the glee in her eyes whenever he would bake offerings to put on the window sill ,for the fairies and the leprechauns,  on the days he needed extra luck. He thinks his mother would have loved to raise him as a witch but she had probably come to a compromise with his father who never seemed to be comfortable with the idea of the not logical.

 

Stiles himself believes that it would have been better if he knew. If he had grown up mastering his abilities then maybe he would have been able to protect his parents when the time had come instead of struggling now, under the roof of a strange, crumbling manor, to become who he is supposed to. 

Well, at least he is not doing it alone. Lydia and Allison have been with him every step of the way. They did not use to be so close to each other before. His mother had been cousins and childhood friends with their parents, Natalie Martin and Chris Argent , but he and the girls were just casual acquaintances, mostly speaking to each other during family gatherings. Stiles actually regrets all this lost time between them. They are the strongest and most loyal people he has had the luck to know and without them… Well, he’s not sure what he would have done without them always being there for him; going through their sorrow together, learning together, fighting side by side…

 

On the night his parents died Stiles ended up at the police station. On one hand the familiarity of the spaces he basically grew up into gave him a sense of stability but on the other hand spending hour upon hour staring at his father’s empty chair while sitting alone in his semi-dark office was  one of the worst things he had experienced in his life. The office’s door was a tiny bit open and Stiles could hear the news being passed upon to everyone. The Sheriff was dead. His wife, Claudia, was also dead, along with her dear friends who had gathered that night at the Sheriff’s house to celebrate the couple’s anniversary. No one could understand who or what could have caused the amount of destruction they had witnessed at the Stilinski household. It seemed like a cyclone had travelled through the house and left it in ruins. Stiles himself could not understand either. He had heard some commotion and raised, panicked voices coming from the down floor but he never actually got to see what was going on. Everything felt so surreal and so unbearably painful that Stiles genuinely thought and hoped it was a nightmare.  _ But then _ Allison and Lydia showed up with an officer, looking just as lost and broken as he did and suddenly they seemed to be the only thing that mattered. Right at that moment he could feel it in his soul that those girls are  _ his _ people; his to love and protect.

 

When Deaton took them into his manor and revealed to them their magical heritage and asked if they were willing  to have their powers back and take on their parents roles as protectors of the town Stiles almost said no. But then the girls took his hands into their own and the roots of a bond that really shouldn’t but  _ did _ feel familiar wrapped his heart like a burning wire. He was still terrified, scared out of his mind,but that feeling… the sense of being part of something bigger…something important; he could never give that up.

* * *

 

Deaton says that Stiles has the same power as his mother. He calls it ‘’time manipulation’’. From what Stiles understands his mother was, if not the strongest, one of the strongest among the time witches. Because of her high level abilities she always had to be careful not to affect significantly the time and space continuum. Stiles doesn’t really have to worry about that as his powers are way more limited. In the beginning all he could do was kind of slow things down but now he can actually freeze stuff. That has come to be really handy; especially with the evil guys… Or for getting him out of awkward situations.

 

He tries to practice every day and especially now during the spring break he’s devoting most of his time into honing his skills. He’s being reading some of his mother’s notes on the Book of Shadows and even done some extra research of his own and he is pretty sure that he should be able to expand his power into something more complex like temporal healing or even complete event reversal. Lydia looks worried every time he brings that up. She thinks that he’s obsessing over finding a way to bring their parents back. But it’s not true. Stiles is well aware that it is too late for his parents. He is just determined to never suffer a loss like that again and if messing with the veil of time is what keeps his girls safe and alive then so be it.

 

Today he’s working on fixing an open face pocket watch his mother had given him on his thirteenth birthday. It used to be her grandmother’s and it stopped working decades ago. Its silver chain is rusty, the same with the metal hands. And the now cloudy crystal is ruined by a long, ugly crack in the middle. Stiles thinks that in order to achieve the physical restoration of an object, even with magic, he needs to have a deep understanding about how the object functions so he’s being doing some heavy reading on the technology and architecture of pocket watches. It’s not easy as there is not a lot of online literature regarding the subject but he’s also found a couple of books at the public library. It’s already midnight and he’s still stuck on his bed, hunched over a four hundred page book, reading about the evolution of pocket watches throughout the years. He’s still not gotten to the 20th century and the plate of dinner Allison left for him before she and Lydia began their ‘’british period dramas’’ marathon is getting cold on the night table. 

 

His eyes are about to shut when he hears a thud coming from the attic. It has him up and running in milliseconds. Since his days as a supernatural being with supernatural enemies began he likes to always be alert and in control. He’s learnt to expect anything. From angry, fire wielding creatures of the underworld to ghosts of weird ancestors coming by just to pay a visit.

What he doesn’t expect barging in full fight mode into the  dark attic is to find Derek Hale standing there, paler than Stiles has ever seen him, leaning heavily against a wall. His clothes are muddy and torn and he’s holding bloody hands protectively against his stomach where Stiles can see the edge of a black arrow protruding.

 

‘’Stiles. Thank God… you’re here.’’ Derek says with a low voice, trying to move towards him but ending up on the floor.  That’s enough to draw Stiles out of his shocked state and make him run to Derek’s side.

 

‘’Derek...what...what is happening? I don’t understand.’’ He makes to touch the arrow but Derek grabs his hand before he can.

 

‘’Don’t…’’ He says. ‘’Don’t touch. It’s poison.’’

 

‘’Poison? How did this happen to you? How did you even get in here?’’ Stiles hadn’t seen Derek in months and as much as it was breaking his heart he thought he never would again. He certainly didn’t expect to find him in his attic in the dead of the night.

 

‘’I… I should have told you. I wanted to. I’m sorry.’’ Derek struggles to get the words out. His voice is hoarse from the pain. He loosens his grip on Stiles hand and Stiles presses it on Derek’s forehead. He’s burning up.

 

‘’Who did this to you?’’ He asks. 

 

‘’Darklighter.’’ Derek manages to get out. 

 

‘’A dark what?’’ 

 

‘’Stiles? Is everything okay?’’ He hears a worried voice coming from behind and he turns his head to see Allison coming through the half open attic door. ‘’Oh my God! Is that Derek? Lydia! Lydia, come here!’’ She yells and Stiles can hear rushed steps climbing the plank staircase. Soon both Allison and Lydia are right by his side. 

 

‘’Help me carry him to the couch.’’ Stiles commands. They help Derek to get on his feet and they drop him on the red chesterfield sofa by the window. ‘’We have to get the arrow out somehow. Without touching it though.’’

 

‘’I can help with that.’’ Allison offers. She raises her arm and with a little discreet movement of her hand she sends the arrow flying to the other side of the room, letting it fall on the ground with a clattering sound. Derek screams in agony. Stiles kneels by his side and takes Derek’s hand into his. He tries to get him to focus.

 

‘’Derek? Derek, look at me. Please. Tell us how to help. What do we need to do?’’

 

‘’You… you can’t. There’s n...nothing. There’s no antidote to a Darklighter’s poison.’’

 

‘’What the fuck is a Darklighter?’’ Stiles asks exasperated. 

 

‘’I’m guessing it’s the opposite of a Whitelighter.’’ Lydia says quietly, trying to avoid eye contact with Stiles who turns to look at her curiously. 

 

‘’And a Whitelighter is…?’’ 

 

‘’Me.I am a Whitelighter.’’ Derek answers. ‘’I’m sorry, Stiles.’’ 

 

Stiles lets go of Derek’s hand and stands up. ‘’You’re… supernatural? But all those months we… You said nothing. Is that… why you left?’’

 

Derek looks up to him sadly and nods.

 

‘’And you knew?’’  Stiles asks Lydia, the feeling of betrayal clear in his tone. 

 

‘’It was not up to me to tell you.’’ She replies calmly, trying to placate Stiles but it has the opposite effect.

 

‘’Are you serious right now? Lydia, he’d been gone for months and i was going crazy trying to think of a reasonable explanation as to why… And you fucking knew?’’

 

‘’Guys, this is not the right time for this.’’ Allison interjects. ‘’ Saving Derek should be our priority now. I’m going to the bathroom to find gauzes and painkillers, okay?’’

 

Stiles sighs and crosses his arms across his chest. ‘’Very well. I am taking the Book down with me to see what i can find on Darklighters.’’

 

‘’You’re leaving?’’ Derek asks him. The hurt look in his eyes makes Stiles hesitate for a moment. 

 

‘’ I just… I need some time. The girls will stay here with you and i’ll find a way to fix this. I promise.’’

 

‘’You can’t…’’ Derek tries to say but Stiles is already grabbing the Book from the stand and going for the door.

* * *

 

 

‘’He’s not mad, you know.’’ Lydia tells Derek when they’re left alone in the room. She helps him take off what’s left of his shirt and then she guides him gently back down on the sofa. ‘’He knows why you couldn’t tell him about the whole Whitelighter thing. It’s not like he went out of his way to tell you he’s a witch.’’

 

‘’It’s not the same. Stiles… all three of you… You are my charges. I am supposed to guide you, keep you safe. And i  _ would _ have told him… But I let my feelings for him distract me from my mission. That’s why i left.’’

 

‘’Derek, it’s fine. You’re here now.’’ She takes one of the blankets sitting on the stacks of old suitcases and covers him with it. ‘’ We’ll find a  way to cure you and then you two will have time to talk this out.’’

 

Derek shakes his head. ‘’There’s no cure, Lydia. I’m dying.’’

 

‘’Well, there has to be something.’’ Lydia says determinedly. ‘’You came to us to help you.’’

 

‘’No. That’s not…’’ Derek closes his eyes and sighs tiredly. ‘’I just wanted to see him. I wanted to be with him when…’’ 

 

Lydia’s eyes widen with understanding. ‘’He’ll be here. If it comes to it… But you have to let him try first. He will carry it forever if he doesn’t.’’

* * *

 

 

‘’How’s it going?’’ Lydia asks him as she enters the kitchen where Stiles is sitting with the Book. 

 

‘’It’s not.’’ He says and rubs his eyes sleepily. ‘’There’s little to nothing about Darklighters in here.’’ 

 

‘’Maybe we should call Deaton.’’ She suggests.

 

Stiles scoffs at the idea. ‘’He’s been out of reach for the past two weeks. And he didn’t even tell us where he was going.’’ It was not an uncommon occurrence for Deaton to disappear from the manor for long periods of time without them really knowing where or with what purpose. Everything about Deaton has been unclear from the start. Stiles understands that he had been very close with his mother, a sort of mentor-student kind of thing. And he does remember Deaton visiting their home sometimes, mostly when Stiles was younger. The Sheriff didn’t seem to like him and he didn’t either; not with all the scrutinizing looks Deaton gave him and the weird questions he kept asking. What he still doesn’t understand is how Deaton came to be in the picture. He’s been co-existing with him for the past year and yet there’s been no indication for him being a witch or having a magical nature of any sort. He’s more like a magical encyclopedia. 

 

‘’Well, I will send him a mail anyway.’’ She says.

 

‘’You do that.’’ Stiles replies indifferently as he keeps turning the illuminated pages of the Book. ‘’How’s Derek?’’ He asks after a minute. 

 

‘’Not good. He’s only half awake at this point and the wound looks awful.  Allison has cleaned and bandaged it but… I don’t know, Stiles. I think we’re running out of time.’’

 

‘’There has to be a way. He’s our innocent. We are supposed to save him.’’

 

Lydia seems to hesitate for a moment. ‘’Maybe… maybe not. Stiles, maybe we’re not meant to save Derek. Maybe this time you have with him… it’s so that you can say goodbye. So that he can explain…’’

 

Stiles shakes his head no. ‘’I am saving him. Whether i am meant to or not.’’

 

‘’I am not saying that we should not try. I will do everything in my power, use every source of knowledge we have… What i am saying is… There’s a very real chance that Derek  _ will  _ die and you’ve left him all alone. He came for you, Stiles. Go to him.’’

 

‘’I can’t…’’ He admits, staring intently at the spells written before him. ‘’ When he left in January...suddenly, without an explanation or even a goodbye, it almost destroyed me. You were there, you got me through it. The thought…only the thought of him dying in my arms… I can’t stand it. And i can’t do it. I will never recover from it.’’

 

Lydia, misty eyed, circles her arms around his neck. ‘’You will. You have a strong heart. And you have us.’’

 

‘’He should have just told me.’’ He says with a broken voice. ‘’ We wouldn’t have lost all this time. Why did he tell you and not me?’’

 

‘’He didn’t have a choice.’’ She says drawing back and taking the chair next to him. ‘’ A few days before Derek left Jackson came to find me.’’

 

‘’What? But i thought that he was hiding from the Triad?’’ When Lydia’s half demon, half human boyfriend decided to break all his ties with evil and side with the good guys, his bosses didn’t take it so well. He’s been on the run ever since. At least until Stiles and the girls can eliminate the Triad. Not a very easy task when you have to do with the Virtual Emperors of the Underworld.

 

‘’He was. He _ is _ . He only comes to me sometimes when he has information on the Triad’s moves. We thought we were safe, i had cast a hiding spell. But one of the Triad’s demons found us, caught us unprepared. We dealt with it but… We got hurt. Jackson really badly. He was dying. I called for help and… suddenly Derek was there. He healed Jackson. One moment he was dying and then… He was fine. Just like that. After that Derek told me; what he is, why he came to us…’’

 

‘’Wait… I don’t understand. Whitelighters have healing powers?’’

 

‘’ Among others, yes. But i also read that…’’

 

‘’No, no, Lydia… Wait a minute. Why isn’t Derek using his powers to heal himself?’’

 

‘’Oh… I’m not sure. But maybe it doesn’t work that way.’’ She replies thoughtfully. 

 

Stiles closes the Book and stands up. ‘’Let’s go.’’

 

‘’Where?’’

 

‘’To ask him.’’

* * *

 

 

The first thing that Stiles sees when he goes into the attic is Allison sitting on the floor right by Derek’s side, resting her face on her knees, looking like she’s given up. And then his eyes turn to Derek’s form. He’s white like paper and his bare skin is glistening with sweat. The bandages covering his stomach are soaked through with blood.  He seems to have fallen asleep but his breathing sounds pained; irregular.

 

Stiles stands frozen for a moment but then he feels Lydia’s hand on his shoulder, encouraging him, and he finds the strength to take the final steps close to Derek. 

 

‘’Derek.’’ Stiles calls, stroking tenderly his feverish cheek. ‘’Derek, please, wake up. Just for a moment. Wake up.’’

 

Derek slowly opens his eyes. ‘’You came.’’ He says quietly, managing a weak smile. ‘’I knew you would.’’ 

 

‘’You have more faith in me than i do.’’

 

‘’Always.’’  He tells him, making Stiles’ heart feel impossibly large for his body. 

 

‘’Derek, please listen. I need you to answer me something important. Why aren’t you using your powers to heal? Is it because you’re weakened? Is there something wrong?’’ 

 

‘’No.’’ Derek replies slowly, like he’s confused by the turn of the conversation. ‘’It just… It doesn’t work that way. I can’t… I can only heal others. Innocents.’’ 

 

Disappointment settles into Stiles’ chest. He hoped that there would be a way to trigger Derek’s healing; that there was something blocking it or delaying it and they would fix it.He wishes he was more powerful. If his mother was here she would have been able to save Derek. She would have made it so that this never had happened. But Stiles is weak. Too weak to protect the people he cares about.

 

‘’Don’t be sad.’’ Derek reaches to steady Stiles’ hand on his face. ‘’I am not sad. And i am not scared. I love you.’’

 

‘’Derek…’’ Stiles begins to say but he doesn’t really know how to continue. He doesn’t even know how to feel hearing those words coming out of Derek’s mouth. He certainly doesn’t expect the unwelcome anger and desperation that take over him. The sense of unfairness because... How can this be happening now. Why now when it is almost too late?

 

And then Stiles hears Lydia letting out a sudden gasp effectively halting his train of bad thoughts. He turns to look at her standing in the middle of the room, clutching the Book tightly against her chest. Her eyes are open but they’re not really seeing; at least not what’s right in front of her. As always, It doesn’t last long. It only takes seconds before she’s again conscious of her surroundings, looking around like she’s just woken up from an odd dream. 

 

‘’You had a premonition.’’ Allison says knowingly and stands up to go to Lydia’s side. ‘’Are you okay? What did you see?’’ 

 

‘’I saw… I saw a vase breaking.’’ 

 

‘’What?’’ Allison asks confused. ‘’ What vase? Why is it important?’’

 

‘’Because i broke it.’’ Lydia explains. ‘’ I broke it using telekinesis. In the premonition i had your powers.’’

 

‘’How is that possible? Is it a demon thing? A curse?’’ Allison wonders. 

 

‘’I don’t know.’’

 

‘’Ι think i do.’’ Stiles jumps up from the couch and strides towards Lydia. ‘’Give me the Book.’’ As she offers it he takes it from her hands and goes to put it on the wooden stand, covering the symbol of Triquetra engraved on its surface. He starts to turn the pages furiously. ‘’If in the premonition Lydia had Allison’s powers then maybe me or Allison had Derek’s.’’

 

‘’And if one of us had Derek’s powers…’’ Allison starts.

 

‘’Then we could use it to save him.’’ Stiles completes triumphantly. ‘’ Here!’’ He says, pointing to a single page. ‘’A power switching spell.’’

 

‘’Does it need the Power of Three?’’ Lydia asks.

 

‘’I don’t think so. It seems to be a one person spell.’’

 

‘’Then how does Lydia end up with my powers?’’

 

‘’I don’t know, Allison.’’ Stiles answers impatiently while skimming through the spell. ‘’ Maybe it’s a broad range spell. Maybe each power searches after the most suited alternate host.’’

 

‘’But is it safe?’’ Allison insists. ‘’ Will we be able to get our powers back?’’

 

‘’Maybe yes, maybe not. At this point… I don’t care. ‘’ Stiles says, looking the girls right in the eye. ‘’Derek is slipping away. Whatever the consequences… I’m doing this.’’ 

 

‘’It won’t work. It can’t…’’ Stiles hears Derek murmuring. He turns to look at the wounded man who’s slipping again into unconsciousness. Scattered words and phrases keep falling out of his mouth.

 

‘’Do it.’’ Lydia says determinedly and Stiles sends a grateful look on her way.

 

_ ‘’What's mine is yours, _

_ What's yours is mine…’’  _ Stiles begins chanting. 

_ Let our powers cross the line _

_ I offer up this gift to share _

_ Switch our powers through the air.’’ _

 

As the spell ends, Stiles expects to feel somehow different. Nothing really happens though. Everything feels as before.

 

‘’Did it work?’’  Lydia asks.

 

Stiles shrugs his shoulders uncertain.  He sees a moth flying around the attic near the light produced by the metal chandelier and he tries to freeze it. It doesn’t work.

 

‘’I can’t freeze so… it must have worked.’’

 

‘’But who has Derek’s powers? It can’t be me. In my premonition i used telekinesis. Whitelighters can heal, orb, use photokinesis…Maybe also telepathy. But not telekinesis.’’

 

‘’Well, one of us could be psychic right now so we could try getting a premonition or something.’’ Allison suggests. ‘’But how? How do we trigger it?’’

 

‘’In the beginning i could only see stuff when i was touching related objects so maybe you should try that too.’’

 

‘’That’s...not very helpful.’’ Allison says but starts passing her hand around the objects in the room and so does Stiles. He tries to concentrate hard on every object he touches but he doesn’t really know how Lydia’s power works. Is it a mind thing or something more instinctual? But as he’s holding an antique ring into his palm, trying hard to get a vision or even a feeling, he starts hearing something. It sounds like someone is calling for him.But it sounds like It’s coming from somewhere far away; kind of like a phone call with really bad reception.

 

‘’I hear something.’’ He tells the girls. ‘’I think someone is calling for help. Is it a psychic thing?’’

 

‘’No.’’ Lydia replies. ‘’ My power is not like that. Maybe it’s one of Derek’s charges and they need help.’’

 

‘’Charges?’’

 

‘’The witches he’s supposed to guide.’’ She explains. ‘’That’s what Whitelighters do. They guide and protect.’’

 

‘’Then it’s me. I have Derek’s powers.’’ Stiles concludes. He rushes to Derek, his heart pounding, and lets his hands hover over the trauma. Not completely unexpectedly, nothing happens.  ‘’I can’t make it work. How? How do i make it work?’’

 

‘’We have to find what sets it off.’’ Lydia says. ‘’Like… it used to be curiousness or fear for me.’’

 

‘’And anger for me.’’ Allison adds.

 

‘’I don’t think fear or anger can activate healing abilities. Though i have plenty of both.’’ Stiles says bitterly and tries to focus. He imagines the wound closing, he tries to think of Derek alive and healthy… but nothing. ‘’Derek. Derek! ’’ He takes the man by the shoulders and tries to shake him awake. Only  _ he _ can really tell him what triggers a Whitelighter’s powers.

 

‘’Stiles…’’ Derek mumbles.This time his eyes remain shut. 

 

‘’Derek, stay with me,please. Just one more question.’’

 

‘’Stiles…’’

 

‘’Derek, how does your healing work? What sets it off?’’

 

‘’S’not important...’’ His voice comes out like a whisper, barely audible. ‘’...too late… love you, love you.’’

* * *

 

 

Almost an hour later Derek has gone completely quiet. His body is still and his breathing is shallow and rare. Stiles is lying next to him, pressed tightly to the back of the sofa, and soothingly strokes his arm. He can hear Allison and Lydia downstairs; Lydia’s being breaking and moving around stuff by accident all over the house and Allison is trying to help her find control.Through the stained glass windows the first rays of light have started to break in. The night is over. 

 

Stiles tries to bring in his mind the days when everything between him and Derek was uncomplicated. When Stiles thought Derek was just a college student from two towns away from Beacon Hills trying to make some money as a handyman; a handyman that was very much needed in a house over a hundred years old where everything was falling apart. 

It was not love at first sight. Although from the beginning there was a sense of familiarity; intimacy. But Stiles’ life was a mess back then, even more than it is now, and the pain was too strong to give place to any other sort of emotions. It took time. It took Derek always being there; at the right time, with the right words. Comforting and encouraging when it was needed, harsh and firm when he had to. Stiles could not believe that someone could ever be so kind and wise and compassionate. And he could certainly not believe that this someone would ever be interested in him. 

On the day of his seventeenth birthday Derek knocked on his window minutes before the clock hit twelve. He gave him cyclamen flowers he said were from a garden and he told him that he was in love with him. Stiles should have been ecstatic but the way Derek said it… it felt wrong. Derek was talking about it like being in love with Stiles was equal to committing sacrilege; like it was something he was fighting hard to stop feeling but he was unable to. His words were dripping with guilt and agony. Stiles kissed him trying to make Derek’s pain go away.

They were never really together . Every time Derek would allow himself to kiss or hug or touch Stiles, he got distant and melancholic. And Stiles did not know how to help him. What to do to fix it.

 

Well… now that he’s thinking about it, things between him and Derek were never uncomplicated. But everything was better when he was there, in Stiles’ life, and it got so much worse when he left.

 

Stiles starts tearing up. He wanted to be strong but now he can feel himself breaking down. 

 

‘’You should’ve tried harder.’’ He says even though he doesn’t think Derek can hear him anymore. ‘’You should’ve fought to stay with me. I have your powers. If you… If you had told me how… How to make it work.’’ He tries to wipe the tears away from his eyes but they keep coming, muddling his vision. It’s like a dam has broken.

 

‘’I love you. I do. I love you so much.’’ He finally admits. 

 

And that’s when it happens. His hands glow with a warm, bright light and Stiles sits up and puts them on top of Derek’s wound. 

 

‘’I found it. I found it.’’  He pulls the bandages away  and sees the wound vanishing, leaving behind only spots of black, dried blood. ‘’I love you, i love you, Derek. Listen. Listen to me. I love you.’’ He keeps repeating. The glow gets brighter and brighter, leaving trails everywhere Stiles’ hands have touched Derek. 

 

Derek opens his eyes and when they meet Stiles’ teary, smiling face, he sits up abruptly and takes him into his arms.

 

‘’Stiles!’’

 

‘’Derek, i’m so sorry.’’ Stiles says crying and bearing his face into the man’s shoulder. ‘’I was trying so hard.  So hard. And i  couldn’t make it work. Why didn’t you tell me?’’

 

‘’That love was the trigger?’’ He asks,drawing Stiles tighter against him. ‘’You had to find that out on your own. And i thought … I wasn’t sure if you...I mean, why didn’t you tell me?’’

 

‘’I don’t know...’’ Stiles says, pulling back. ‘’I was… afraid. I was afraid that if i admitted it now it would somehow hurt more if i lost you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I should have said it before.’’

 

‘’It’s okay. Please, don’t cry.’’ Derek says, moving his hands to hold Stiles’ face. ‘’It’s better late than never.’’ 

 

‘’It was almost  _ too _ late.’’

 

‘’Almost. But we made it.’’ He says with a sweet smile. He brushes his thumbs against Stiles’ cheeks to push away the tears and then he leans forward and captures his lips.

 

Finally.

* * *

 

It takes Derek a whole week to recover. He spends most of it on Stiles’ bed, letting him take care of him. The powers finally return to their rightful owners but not before a disastrous round where Allison ends up with Stiles powers and starts turning objects to dust and causing every sort of plant life to wither and die. It’s the first time Stiles feel grateful his powers are still so low scale.

 

It’s a weird, messy but happy week and Stiles wishes it could last forever. But nothing lasts forever. Especially when you’re fighting the good fight and the time comes when duty calls.

 

“I don’t want you to go “ Stiles tells Derek as they lie face to face together on his bed.

 

‘’I don’t want to go either.’’ Derek says, giving him a light kiss on the mouth. ‘’I think… maybe this is why it’s not allowed for Whitelighters to date witches.’’

 

‘’Why?’’

 

‘’Because it would distract them from their missions. Change their priorities.The greater good should always come first.’’ 

 

‘’And loving each other compromises that?’’

 

‘’I’m not sure. Right now i feel that if it came down to preserving the balance or saving you, i would always choose you. But maybe… I don’t know. Maybe in the end i would make the right choice.’’

 

‘’So that’s why you left.’’

 

‘’Yes.’’ Derek admits, lowering his eyes as if he feels ashamed. ‘’As long as i didn’t tell you...as long as i was Derek the handyman instead of a Whitelighter… we wouldn’t have to face that obstacle. Or at least that’s how it felt at that time. And then Lydia found out and i knew i _had_ to tell you. But i didn’t want to do it before i was certain…’’

 

‘’Certain for what?’’

 

‘’For what i was ready to sacrifice. I didn’t want to put you through this before i was sure that, if needed, i would give this all up to be with you.’’

 

‘’What do you mean?’’ Stiles asks confused. 

 

‘’I mean if i could give up being a Whitelighter and become a mortal again. Live a  normal life by your side.’’ 

 

‘’ _ Wha... _ ? You… You used to be a mortal?’’ 

 

Derek gives a little nod with his head. ‘’I actually grew up here in Beacon Hills. Have your heard of the Hales?’’

 

‘’You’re a Hale? Wow. Yes, of course i’ve heard of them. They’re one of the founding families of the town. Laura Hale used to work for my dad.’’

 

‘’She’s my sister.’’ Derek says, grinning proudly. 

 

‘’So what happened?’’

 

‘’About four years ago i was working as a nurse at a hospital in Aleppo. There was an air raid. The last thing i remember is feeling a sharp pain and then i just… I found myself floating, surrounded by Whitelighters. They offered me immortality, the chance to help people… Special people like you. And never once did i regret my choice, until i met you. And i found myself thinking how it would feel to be human again, committing myself to someone, growing old with them.’’

 

‘’You can do that? Become human again?’’

 

‘’Yes, by giving up my wings.’’

 

‘’And will you do that? ’’

 

‘’If you ask me to. Yes.’’

 

Stiles bites his lip nervously. He can’t lie to himself. A lifetime by Derek’s side; of course he wants that. He can’t think of something he would want more. Just...not like that. ‘’I can’t do that’’ He says finally, doing his best to keep his voice steady. ‘’I don’t really know a lot about Whitelighters, not yet, but from the little i know, i can tell you were meant to be one, Derek.I won’t take it away from you and i won’t take  _ you _ away from those who need your help’’

 

‘’If i keep being a Whitelighter, i don’t know if they’ll let us be together.’’ 

 

‘’We’ll have to find a way.’’ Stiles says, leaning forward to set his forehead on Derek’s. ‘’I mean…i just gave up a normal relationship with the love of my life for the sake of the the greater good. I hope this will count for something.’’

 

Derek smiles at that but his expression remains sad. ‘’I have to go. They’re calling for me.’’ 

 

Stiles nods in acceptance. He gives Derek a goodbye kiss and then watches as the man orbs away.

 

‘’I love you.’’ He says in the now empty room.

* * *

 

  
_The End_  
  
partly based on [{x}](http://chrysthebadwolf.tumblr.com/post/141500367196/charmed-au-are-you-trying-to-kill-me-what)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> \- it's the first time i write in present tense. it feels weird and takes twice the effort.  
> -i'm almost 95% sure that only people who have watched the show will be able to follow the plot but at least it may inspire some people to watch The most iconic show of the 90's and early 00's? Do it for the love of my life Piper Halliwell.  
> \- i really wanted to add more stuff about Claudia and Deaton and the Hales but it felt like it would be an info overload for a simple one shot. But maybe in the future.Leo and Piper have so many interesting storylines going for them that i would love to sterek. ''Derek losing his wings'' AU, ''Magical Wedding Fiasco'' AU etc etc.  
> \- And ofc thank you for reading my story!


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